Serbian rector’s phone was infected with spyware during student protests, group says

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Spyware from an Israeli company was used to target the phone of the rector of the Belgrade university who has played a prominent role in nearly two years of protests against Serbia ‘s populist leader Aleksandar Vucic, a digital rights group said on Monday. The Balkan country is holding a tense election this weekend that is seen as a showdown between the protesting student movement and Vucic, who is seeking to extend his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party’s 14-year rule. In September, digital rights groups reported that at least 14 activists and students had their phones hacked and infected with spyware, including NSO Group’s Pegasus.

The Citizen Lab group, which carries out forensic analyses of spyware attacks, said in a statement that it could confirm with “high confidence” that Vladan Djokic’s phone was infected with Pegasus spyware in 2026. The group said it carried out an analysis in cooperation with Serbia-based SHARE Foundation, also a digital rights group. A separate analysis is underway to determine whether the phone of associate prosecutor Rade Bajic was also hacked.

Bajic worked on an alleged corruption surrounding a real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, which was later canceled. Bajic received an Apple Threat Notification on his phone in August.

There was no immediate comment from the Serbian authorities. They have denied in the past they were behind such attacks, which were first reported in 2024. Students say authorities plan detentions and monitor meetings Pegasus is spyware developed by the Israeli company NSO Group that can secretly infiltrate smartphones, allowing operators to read messages, track a user’s location and activate microphones and cameras.

It can be installed through so-called zero-click attacks, which require no action by the phone’s owner. The SHARE Foundation said that without an effective investigation, accountability and a message that unlawful surveillance is unacceptable, “there is a serious risk that digital repression will continue and spread further, reaching every part of society and every critical voice.” The student movement on Sunday warned that their meetings were being monitored and alleged that authorities planned to detain a number of their colleagues ahead of a major rally on Thursday. Scores of students have been detained …

Bajic received an Apple Threat Notification on his phone in August.There was no immediate comment from the Serbian authorities. Police have not commented.Scores of students have been detained in Serbia d…